﻿Hawthorn Remedies

Hawthorn Remedies

The Hawthorn Tree

Hawthorn is an easy to recognise and extremely common tree, found throughout the world. The hawthorn tree has smallish leaves and produces tiny blossoms in late April and May. The flowers have a strangely pungent, sweet, smell.

The flowers are followed by berries which are small and dark red, much like miniature apples.

Hawthorn is widely used as a hedging plant, and can be found almost anywhere.

How To Gather And Store Hawthorn

Gather the hawthorn flowers in April and May. Take the flowers as they come into bud, give each branch or twig of flowers a good shake to dislodge insects and spiders. Blossom is best gathered in a paper bag, as it can become detached from the twig, the paper bag keeps it nice and safe, in a basket the blossom can blow away if it gets windy.

Hawthorn leaves are also used in remedies and can be gathered any time, though fresh, young leaves, are the best.

Gather the berries in autumn and use fresh. Just pick the dark red berries from the tree in bunches discarding any mushy, or manky looking ones.

Be careful, hawthorn has very sharp thorns!

How To Dry Hawthorn Blossom

Hawthorn blossom is best dried in a box lined with kitchen paper.

Pick off any dead flowers and remove all of the blossoms from the branches. You don't want any green parts mixed in with the blossom.

Remove the blossoms by holding each branch over a colander, with a bucket or large bowl placed underneath, and shaking, or use your hand to gently strip the blossoms. ​Insects will undoubtably fall into the colander, use one with wide holes and most of the insects will fall through the holes and into the bucket. This is because they are heavier than the blossoms. More stubborn insects can be manipulated through the holes by using your hand to stir the blossoms in a circular motion, or spinning the colander.

Hawthorn Benefits

Traditionally hawthorn berries were eaten as a food for hundreds of years.Hawthorn Benefits: Medicinally hawthorn has sedative properties and can be used to combat mild insomnia, it has a calming effect on the central nervous system and is good for the treatment of mild stress.

Hawthorn is also good for helping the circulation, strengthening the heart, and maintaining a steady heartbeat.

Hawthorn Warnings

Do not use in high doses.

Do not use of using machinery or driving.

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